Charlie's Birth Story

Charlie's birth story technically starts several days before he was born. If you already know the backstory, feel free to skip over as much as you want :-)

On Monday, May 5, I went to my regular doctor's appointment for the week. I was 36 weeks and 4 days pregnant. Dr. B checked my blood pressure and urine as usual, as I had had PIH, or pregnancy induced hypertension, for the last half of my pregnancy. My blood pressure was high and my urine had +1 protein again. Dr. B said he wanted me to do another 24 hr urine collection that weekend, and that when we got the results next Tuesday, I should be prepared that we may need to deliver that day.

On the way home from the appointment, I suddenly felt a sharp, stabbing pain in my right upper abdomen. I had eaten breakfast but not lunch yet, and it was noon. I stopped and ate, but it didn't help. Got home and layed down, drank water, took Tums, no change. It had been 2 hours of constant pain, and I knew it wasn't going away on its own. I tried to reach Brian at work but couldn't. Max was sleeping and Logan would need to be picked up from school shortly. I called Sonja, freaking out a bit, and asked her to stay on the phone with me for awhile. I woke max and we picked up Logan and headed for the hospital. Brian called and said he'd meet us there. Once he did, he picked up the boys and took them to our wonderful neighbors who watched them for the evening.

At the hospital, I was a mess. My bp was high, I was in terrible pain. They drew blood to check my liver function, gave me pain meds, and kept me on monitors. The doctor ordered an ultrasound called a biophysical profile (BPP) of Charlie. They couldn't see him breathe for 30 seconds of a 30 minute session, so he didn't pass. The blood work came back normal. Dr. G, the doctor on call for my clinic, wasn't comfortable sending me home with Percocet, and I knew I couldn't tolerate this pain with plain Tylenol. He wanted me back in the morning to repeat the BPP, so he decided to admit me overnight. Brian's mom decided to fly in from Minnesota, so he left to pick her up from the airport and get the the boys home. I hardly slept, even with the Percocet, the pain was so uncomfortable.

In the morning, Tuesday, they repeated the BPP and Charlie passed, just under the wire. Dr. M, who was now on call, had decided that my pain must be muscular, and discharged me with a prescription for Flexeril, a muscle relaxant, and scheduled another non-stress test for Friday (it was now Tuesday). I took two doses of Flexeril that night, and they did nothing. I was miserable. I waited until 6 am Wednesday in order to let Brian get some sleep, then drove back to the hospital.

I explained my situation to the nurse, and she called Dr. G, who was on call, and he said he was on his way in, but that I could get a dose of Percocet if I wanted. I declined initially, saying I had let it wear off on purpose because I wanted him to get a clear picture of the pain unmasked by medication, but it was soon too much for me to bear. Dr. G listened to me, but decided he wanted to send me home with a full prescription for Percocet. He said basically that they don't deliver before 38 weeks unless the situation is life or death. 38 weeks was still 8 days away. I couldn't imagine this pain and round-the-clock Percocet for another 8 days, for both my sake and Charlie's. And, we still didn't know what was causing the pain, but Dr. G wasn't concerned. I told him I was going to go down to the ER for a workup. He said, "You know they're just going to call me." I was insulted - was he implying I was a hypochondriac because I wanted to know what was causing this debilitating pain?! Brian and I went right to the ER.

The ER doctor immediately ordered an ultrasound of the area and IV fluids. It turned out my right kidney was swollen, and the ureter was blocked. The ER doc said the only cures were delivering the baby or placing a stent in the ureter, surgically. He called Dr. G, who refused to change his treatment plan, and ordered me discharged. I felt frustrated, scared, and defeated.

I went home and attempted sleep, and checked out other clinics to see if there might be another doctor I could see, with no success.

Thursday the 8th, I decided to go see the Patient Relations Director and explain the situation. She was very nice and seemed to agree with what I was saying. She tried to find answers for me, but was told it was the doctor's decision, ultimately, whether to deliver me or not. Dr. F called (the now-on-call Dr for the clinic) - well actually his assistant called - and said Dr. F would not change the plan, but wanted me to keep my appointment with Dr. G the next morning, and to come NPO (nothing to eat or drink) as he may admit me to have a stent put in my ureter, under general anesthesia. WHAT?!?! that was insane! Why would I risk general anesthesia for myself and my baby and have a surgery that, once baby arrived, would be totally unnecessary?! Now I was really mad - this doctor seemed to be digging in his heels just to prove a point - he'd rather subject us to unneeded surgery and excess narcotic medication, rather than relieving the problem altogether by delivering the baby pushing on my kidney! I called the Patient Relations Director back and asked her, hypothetically speaking, what my options were. I had called clinics and they either wouldn't take on a new patient at 37 weeks, or they would, but couldn't schedule an appointment for another week or more. I couldn't wait that long. How could I get another doctor to review my case and decide independently if delivery was medically indicated? She said, hypothetically, if I went into any ER and told them that I was in pain and had Fired my OB, their OB Hospitalist on call would have to evaluate and treat me as they saw fit. OK, at least I had an option.

I went onto my Mom's group on Facebook to get opinions on other local hospitals, as we're still new to the area. Some felt I should go outside of the hospital system I had been going to, to ensure an unbiased opinion. Others said that I should stay in the system, so they had fast access to my records. Several moms said that they had been delivered at 37 weeks at specific other hospitals, including another one in this system. We narrowed it down to 2. One of them had a level 3 NICU (not that we expected to need it), and it was in the same hospital system, so it had my records. We decided to try them first.

Around 8:30 pm on Thursday, May 8, we arrived at the hospital ER. They immediately sent me to OB Triage. I explained the situation to the nurse, and she was very supportive. She said that doctor (we'll call her B2 for the sake of privacy) was on call, and that she was an excellent doctor. The nurse took my vitals (high BP), checked my cervix (high and closed), and checked on Charlie (doing well). She said she had one more intake to do and then she'd call Dr. B2, who was already in the hospital, to review it. By now it was about 9:30 pm. We watched The Proposal on TV and waited. At a little after 10, I inquired if the Dr. had been called, and the nurse said she was just about to do so. At 10:30, the nurse came back and said Dr. B2 had reviewed my case and wanted to proceed with the c-section, and I would be moved up to Labor and Delivery shortly to be prepped. Not gonna lie, I freaked out a little! To go from waiting on a doctor to begin reviewing my case and discussing it, to being prepped for surgery, instantly, was a little overwhelming! But it's what I wanted, I didn't feel like I could back out or ask them to wait! Two med students came in to get some information from me, and one of them checked my cervix to confirm the contractions weren't progressing me too fast. I was low and fingertip open, after only an hour! It seemed like the first check irritated things enough to get them going! So now my labor was moving forward, it was a good thing we were delivering!

Up in Labor and Delivery, it was a flurry of activity. I no sooner sat down in my room than in walked Dr. B2 with one of her nurses, a Labor nurse, the two med students, and the anesthesiologist. My nurse (the labor nurse) got me hooked up to an IV while Dr. B2 started talking. She was a little less personable than I expected, but I understood that taking on a case at the 11th hour must be stressful. She went over the risks of the surgery, which were higher because it was my fourth, and because my placenta was on the front of my uterus. She explained that they'd need to do an ultrasound to confirm its exact location, and if it was around my incision site, there would be considerable risk that it could be cut into and I'd hemorrhage, requiring possibly a blood transfusion and/or a hysterectomy. Gulp. I knew those were ALWAYS risks with a c-section, but it was still scary. She made me sign consent forms for both, plus the tubal ligation we had decided on with my previous doctor due to health issues. My anesthesiologist, who I will name by name because he was just.that.awesome. - Dr. Batheja, who we'll call B3 for short - are you noticing a theme? - started talking about the spinal. I told him about previous complications I've had with the spinals; my blood pressure drops and I feel like I'm going to pass out, and I always vomit. Also they "take" heavily in my body, so my legs stay very numb for a very long time, which makes me feel claustrophobic and Really Anxious. It's probably my least favorite part of the entire delivery - worse than getting the spinal. He listened carefully, and I asked if there was anything he could do about those things. He assured me he could do a lot to make me more comfortable, which was a big relief! I told him about medications that work well for me and those I have unpleasant reactions to, and he personalized his approach based on those things. The nurse (I'm 99% sure her name was Jen so we'll call her Jen, and Jen if you're reading this by chance, I hope I'm right because you were great too!) gave me Zofran for nausea in my IV and was going to give me Reglan, but Reglan actually makes me more nauseated, so I asked if she could leave it out and she said yes, another relief! I really felt cared for and that the experience was personalized for me, which put me at ease. The ultrasound confirmed my placenta was high enough that Dr. B2 shouldn't have problems making the incision, and we got one last look at baby on screen. I drank the Awful grape shot - I still don't know the name of it but it's always the same, and my 2nd least favorite part of the experience - to neutralize the acid in my stomach, they finished the prep, and we were off to the OR.

As I walked the two doors down to the OR and into the room, into the blast of cold air (ORs are always so cold!) I got nervous, even though I had done this thrice before. It was about 10 minutes to midnight. Brian was changing into scrubs per protocol, so it was just me and the medical staff. I sat on the gurney and arched my back for the spinal. A sweet older nurse named Judy was in front of me. She told me I could lay my head on her shoulder if I wanted to. At first that seemed odd, but once I did it, it really calmed me down. She whispered in my ear what Dr. B3 was doing at each step, coached me and encouraged me. It took him longer than I'm used to to get it placed, but I kept reminding myself, this is important to get precisely correct! It stung more times too, due to the lidocaine, but it was OK. Once they laid me back, to my shock, I didn't feel faint or queasy, and I could still wiggle my toes! I asked Dr. B3 about it, if that was alright or it meant the spinal didn't take, and he said it was fine, and they'd still do tests to ensure I was numb enough to not feel pain. They cleaned my belly and had to let it sit for a specific number of minutes untouched, which was weird, but again, I was OK. I was nervous, but tried to calm myself down by talking to the nurses. Brian came in and held my hand, and my toes started to go numb, which was a bummer, but I tried to focus on the fact that I'd be meeting my son in a moment! It had turned past midnight, so his birthday would officially be May 9. As Dr. B2 started the incision, I was nervous to hear her commentary, if my uterus had too much thinning (called a "window," which can mean problems) or I had excessive scar tissue, or my placenta wasn't where they thought, any kind of unexpected complication. I was half holding my breath, half reminding myself to breathe deeply to stay calm. I asked her if everything was OK, and she said yes, that I was right in what I had told her, I didn't have much scar tissue at all, and everything looked good. I felt lots of pressure and pulling and then heard that glorious baby cry, the best sound in the world to a mom! I asked a million questions of Brian and the nurses - what does he look like? Is he OK? How big is he? He was fine, they said very cute, and his apgars were 8 and 9, no weight until he gets to the nursery, which was disappointing. They brought him alongside me and I fell in love instantly. I said he looked like Max already. Brian got up to go with him to the nursery. I asked if he could stay with me, but Brian pointed out that then he wouldn't get any nursery pictures, and I changed my mind :-) I don't like the stitching-up part, especially being numb and just having to lie there. I tried to stay calm, deep breathe, and talk to the nurses. They confirmed his birth time was 0:06. I said it was a pity they couldn't have waited another minute - 007 would've been appropriate, as I felt like he tried to kill me my whole pregnancy! Dr. B2 said again how good everything looked, which was very reassuring. For some reason I got nervous about being transferred from the OR table to the bed (I'm still not sure why, maybe just being moved when I couldn't feel it?) but they inflated this raft-like thing beneath me and scooted me right over, it was great! I was wheeled out to recovery, and they played the rock-a-bye-baby tune as we exited Labor and Delivery. I had done it. It was done. My last delivery. Deep breath. Now to just get un-numb and the worst was officially behind me!

Brian joined me in recovery and told me that Charlie was doing great, he didn't need any assistance in the nursery, and that his weight was 6 lbs. 8 ounces and he was 20 inches even - just like his oldest brother. It was just Brian, my nurse Jen, and me in the recovery area, nice and quiet. The numbness was freaking me out, though, and I was used to having family and friends coming in and lots of distractions post-delivery. I'll spare the play-by-play of the next two hours and just sum up by saying I had lots of IV fluids because my urine was very dark and they were concerned, given my kidney issue, and Brian was so great about rubbing my legs - I could feel that, and it gave me the sensation of my legs being there and helped with my anxiety. It took about two hours to totally wear off, which is what Jen estimated, and it helped me to count down time, and I cannot sleep when my legs are numb (and Brian couldn't sleep because I needed him to distract me), but we made it, and I left knowing I'd never have to go through that again.

Once up in our post-partum room, Brian got some much needed and deserved sleep. I couldn't sleep, I was too amped up from the excitement of the evening, but I was incredibly relieved. Charlie was here, and he and I were both healthy, and I was Done. The nurses came in and out for vitals, and I continued to receive bags of IV fluids. I got to hold and snuggle him, feel him breathing and wiggling in my arms. It was heavenly. I thought about Grace, and hoped she was smiling down on us, along with Nana and Gaga. The next morning it was time for Brian's mom to depart for Minnesota, after coming to the hospital for Charlie snuggles and pictures, and my mom to arrive. Brian drove the "airport shuttle" and brought my mom to the hospital. It was so nice to have family celebrating with us, and to know that the boys were so well-cared for. Thanks moms!

I'll summarize the next few days post-birth because I know this is a really long post already, but may be of interest, as it was very eventful - basically, Charlie started feeding on formula bottles, and we noticed he continually spit up quite a bit of it. I asked the nurse to check with the nursery nurse about it. She assured me it was normal for babies to spit up, but having had a baby with pyloric stenosis and two with reflux, I was on high alert. His belly looked distended to me, and he was very reluctant to take the bottle. Sure enough, the nurse in the nursery agreed, and called the NICU Nurse Practitioner and a Neonatologist to come and check him out. They ordered an x-ray, which showed what they call an Ilius - an area of the bowel that isn't moving with the flow. Charlie then passed a plug-shaped chunk of meconium in his diaper shortly before their visit. They thought the meconium might have been the source of the problem, but wanted to do more tests and give him IV fluids and more monitoring, so they admitted him to the NICU. I knew before they said it, that they were concerned about Cystic Fibrosis, which was scary. Seeing him in the NICU for the first time, I felt emotions I hadn't expected. I had seen other babies in the NICU before, Logan had been hospitalized at 6 weeks, I didn't think it'd be a big deal, but it was. He had to have a tube taped to his upper lip and running down his throat into his belly to suction out anything in it. The suction went on every minute or two. Sometimes he didn't seem to notice, other times it upset him, which upset me. He had leads on his chest and his foot, and an IV in his tiny hand. After 24 hours of suction, the results of which looked good (not super neon green like bile, no blood), the doctors allowed him to have unflavored Pedialyte (which toddler Alex once described as tasting like "old bones," which still baffles us!), and if he kept that down, he could start having my breastmilk, which I was pumping like a fiend every 2 hours around the clock. He kept down the Pedialyte, then the breastmilk in small doses, and was moved to the Continuing Care nursery. The dr then increased the amount of milk he could have slowly, until he was allowed to have as much as he wanted, which increased from 15 to 25 to 30 cc's every three hours over several days. Once he was taking 45 cc's or more in a feeding, having breastmilk BMs, and no more hard or distended belly, he got the all clear to go home, and we were thrilled. We were exhausted, me from pumping every 2 hours and walking on my now-incredibly-swollen feet, Brian from working, and both of us from making trips to the hospital and home to see the boys and try to sleep, but we were so excited to have him free from tubes and wires and home snuggling with us.

That's the story of Charlie's arrival and first week of life, we hope you enjoyed reading it more than we enjoyed experiencing it! ;-) a lot of stress, and we're so glad it's over!